7/24 Kitty AMBG 62; PMBG 56

[Missy & Kitty]

Good morning, everyone!

Kitty had a normal poo again during the night (hooray!), and she is getting more energetic every day. No shot again this morning, so we're pretty happy. No insulin for 3.5 days now! flip_cat

I bought a scale online last night so I could start weighing the cats. I originally weighed them using my scale, but the baby scale is definitely going to be more accurate. I want to make sure I don't give them too much or too little food!

I'm off to get some work done! Have a great day, guys!

 

[Amy & Papaya (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Go Kitty Go :RAHCAT

 

[Angela & Blackie & 3 Others]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Good girl, Kitty! I, too, weigh Blackie on a regular basis, and have been for some time now. :lol: With regards to food adjustments, be sure to do it gradually so that there aren't any problems (I forget what someone said that could happen if it's done too quickly). Otherwise, keep up the excellent work! :mrgreen:

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Yay! For the 5 P's

Peeing
Pooping
Preening
And I forget the other two :YMSIGH:

But you get the idea.....Yup I think you have a broken kitty and it was probably that steroid shot that brought her BG up. Hopefully, it was just a one time thing and you will have a diet controlled (albeit broken) diabetic cat!

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Go Kitty Go

dancing_cat

I, too, weigh Blackie on a regular basis, and have been for some time now.

I have a Blackie as well! He's going to vet this afternoon. There's something going on with his right ear. I hope it's something simple; I just spent all of my money on Kitty!

It's so funny..last month I was wanting to buy a 32" TV. I rarely ever spend money on myself, so I wanted to get something I wanted. I just couldn't bring myself to spend $250. And now here I am spending $200 at the vet, $300+ at Walmart, and $60 on a scale. Haha! I guess I know what my priorities are!

With regards to food adjustments, be sure to do it gradually so that there aren't any problems

Great tip, thank you!

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Yay! For the 5 P's

Peeing
Pooping
Preening
And I forget the other two

:lol:

Yup I think you have a broken kitty and it was probably that steroid shot that brought her BG up

I think so too. I'm making sure the vet knows not to ever give any of my animals a cortisone shot again! That's some bad stuff!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

The "other" 2 Ps are purring and playing. (I can't imagine that Hillary's kitties don't do that!!)

It's been 7 cycles since you gave Kitty a shot. Whatever Lantus was in the depot is gone. It's time to start an OTJ trial!! Actually, you started the trial on 7/21 with the first skipped shot so today would be Day 4. Here are the instructions:

• Test at your normal AMPS and PMPS times. Feed multiple small meals throughout the day as much as possible (small meals are less likely to overwhelm a newly functioning pancreas).
  
• If your cat is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time, just feed small meals and go about your day. If she is blue, feed a small meal and test again after about 3 hours. If her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then her pancreas is working!
  
• After 2 weeks, if everything is looking good, we have a party!

Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens, we just give her the support he needs. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.

Congrats and good luck with the trial!

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

It's time to start an OTJ trial!!

We're ready!

Yesterday, I fed Kitty a meal at 8AM, a snack at 12:30PM, a snack at 3:30PM, a snack at 5:15PM, a meal at 8:00PM and a bigger snack at 10:30PM. Will that be OK to do for a little while? I was afraid I wasn't giving her enough calories by giving so many snacks instead of meals, so I gave her that bigger snack last night.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

It's fine to divide up the total food into small meals throughout the day (snacks or "mini meals"). A cat needs roughly 20 calories per pound to maintain weight. The calories for food are either on the can, Dr. Lisa's list, or the manufacturer's website. You just don't want to plop down a can of food twice a day. Obviously, how you're feeding is working!

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

A cat needs roughly 20 calories per pound to maintain weight. The calories for food are either on the can, Dr. Lisa's list, or the manufacturer's website.

I couldn't find the info on the can, but I was going to go with 30 cals/pound/day. I know Dr. Pierson says that some can be 20 cals though. :/

Kitty is about 9.68 pounds, so she's in the range of a good weight for a female, but she is a small cat. I don't think she should weigh that; she's quite wide.

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Always check Dr. Lisa's food chart - chances are you will find what you are looking for on there.

Ah thanks Sienne for the last two P's -- well yes, my girls sometimes purr - not often and rarely play.

My girls prefer the E&N approach - eating and napping! :lol: They're two favorite activities and napping is usually first!

Missy - there may come a time when steroids are needed and while we would all love to eliminate it completely, it does serve a purpose. The important thing is to be aware of it, use alternatives when possible - and when needed use them and test BG's just in case.

Oh and most ear meds contain steroids - so be sure to ask before giving ear meds.

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

well yes, my girls sometimes purr - not often and rarely play.

Kitty purrs a lot, but she doesn't play much either! She'll play for just a minute, and then she's like, "*yawn* I've grown tired of your feeble attempts to entertain me. Go on. Bring me some food, and be quick about it."

Missy - there may come a time when steroids are needed and while we would all love to eliminate it completely, it does serve a purpose. The important thing is to be aware of it, use alternatives when possible - and when needed use them and test BG's just in case.

Ah, OK. I'll discuss it with me vet and see if we can find alternatives whenever possible.

Oh and most ear meds contain steroids - so be sure to ask before giving ear meds.

I had no idea! I have no idea what are in those things.I guess I assumed it was magic. Haha! Their ear hurts, you put this stuff in there, the ear stops hurting=magic.

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Ah, OK. I'll discuss it with me vet and see if we can find alternatives whenever possible.

Apparently I've turned into a pirate. I'll discuss it with me vet...arrrggg... :mrgreen:

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Being a pirate is good!

Yes, I've learned the hard way that most ear meds are steroid based. As a pirate you always need to ask what is in this med before accepting it or giving it to the cats.

Maui is allergic to amoxicillin (which is part of the pencillin family) - as a result she cannot take clavamox, which is normally a good broad based antibiotic, but it contains amoxicillin, so it's on Maui's no, no list.

If you or the vet isn't sure what is in something, google it - you will be able to find everything online and what's in the med.

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

DAY 4

DAY 4

DAY 4

DAY 4

The friskies pates are 30 to 33 calories an ounce. You can find the specifics in the last column on Dr Lisa's list.

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

The last few times I've brought the cats in for something with their ears, the vet has given me Tri-Otic Ointment. I just read the label, and it says it's for dogs only..huh. Interesting.

It says it's for the treatment of canine acute and chronic ottis externa associated with yeast and/or bacteria susceptible to gentamicin. Each gram contains gentamicin sulfate, USP equivalent to 3 mg gentamicin base; betamethasone valerate, USP equivalent to 1 mg betamethasone; and 10 mg clotrimazole, USP in a mineral oil-based system containing a plasticized hydrocarbon gel. I hope someone understands what that means..I sure don't.

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

The friskies pates are 30 to 33 calories an ounce. You can find the specifics in the last column on Dr Lisa's list.

Ah, yes. I just checked the list, and the flavors I feed my kitties are ~31 and ~34 cals/ounce. Good deal. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[BJM]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

The last few times I've brought the cats in for something with their ears, the vet has given me Tri-Otic Ointment. I just read the label, and it says it's for dogs only..huh. Interesting.

It says it's for the treatment of canine acute and chronic ottis externa associated with yeast and/or bacteria susceptible to gentamicin. Each gram contains gentamicin sulfate, USP equivalent to 3 mg gentamicin base; betamethasone valerate, USP equivalent to 1 mg betamethasone; and 10 mg clotrimazole, USP in a mineral oil-based system containing a plasticized hydrocarbon gel. I hope someone understands what that means..I sure don't.

It says for dogs, because it wasn't tested in cats, so it isn't FDA appoved for them. Off label use in cats.

Otitis externa - external ear inflammation

Gentamicin - antibiotic
betamethasone - steroid
clotrimazole - antifungal

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Wow! Thanks, BJM! Do you know if any of those things have side effects? It's not for Kitty (it's for Blackie), but I still want to make sure it's OK to use.

 

[BJM]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

Anything can have side effects - you just observe and decide if the side effect is worth it, if not dangerous. For example - oral steroids may increase appetite. If the cat is underweight and needs to gain, this is great, but if the cat is already obese, you'll want to figure out a way to manage the cat's incessant pleas for food.

For antibiotics and antifungal/yeast meds, if you don't finish treatment, you may wind up with resistant organisms.

For the steroid, although it is topical (outside the body), some folks have reported some elevations in glucose. As with any meds, if it should raise glucose levels in a diabetic, you adjust your insulin around that.

Note that any medicine or carrier gel/ointment/etc may trigger irritation or allergy in some animals or people (a side effect). You watch for signs of problems and if seen, contact the vet for alternatives.

Additional info on Otitis from the Merck Veterinary Manual.

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Re: 7/24 Kitty AMBG 62

I'm so glad you're here. I'll be copying this info and bookmarking that article. Thank you so much!

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Good news! Kitty's PMBG is 56. Hooray!

 

[Deb & Wink]

Fantastic numbers for Kitty still. I've been away all day and just getting to read some condos. I start reading Kitty's, and what do I see? The go ahead for an official OTJ trial, and you are already at day 4! :RAHCAT :RAHCAT :RAHCAT

Please forgive the horrible rhymes. ohmygod_smile It's part of what I do here to cheer on kitties on OTJ trials.
Kitty on OTJ trial day four,
We need to see 10 more,
Before we can say,
She is OTJ!


Hi Kitty. Waving at you from the second best place there is to be. (First place is home)
Hope you get to come join me at the falls soon! Wink ;-)

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Ha! I love it! :lol: